CPS*

Question 1

Creation

Answer 1

Established by the Prosecution of Offences Act 1985 after the Phillips Commission report in 1981. The report found that there was a need for a new independent body to handle prosecutions.

Prosecutions used to be dealt with by the police but there were many famous Miscarriages of Justice that prompted change:

Birmigham 6- 6 men sentenced to lif imprisonment for pub bombings, evidence falsified by police.

CPS was also created to counterbalance increase in police powers under Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.

Question 2

Structure

Answer 2

Head of CPS is Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), must be a Barrister with 10 years experience.

DPP turns in reports to Attorney-General (A-G). A-G is a law officer who gives legal advice to Government and oversees CPS & Serious Fraud Office.

CPS was divided into 13 divisional areas in 2010 (was 42 areas before). Each area has its own Chief Crown Prosecutor.

14th Virtual area called CPS Direct. Out of Hours phone service to every Police Station in the country, advising on what charges to bring.

Question 3

Role

Answer 3

3 Main Functions:

• Advise Police on whether to charge and what charges to bring.
• Prepare Prosecution case for court.
• Appear in court and present case, also appear in Appeal courts to defend prosecution and ask A-G to appeal against lenient sentence etc.

CPS gets powers from 2 Acts:

Prosecution of Offences Act 1985: Created the Department.

Criminal Justice Act 2003: Gives the CPS the power to decide what charges to bring against a suspect, AKA National Statuatory Charging Scheme.

Question 4

Decision To Charge

Answer 4

The initial decision to charge can rest with the police if it’s a trivial matter. However, the CPS will still decide what charges to bring.

The decision to charge can happen at different stages:

On The Street: When Police see a crime being committed. They maight not report the incident but issue aformal caution or a fine.

Once an Investigation has been Conducted: Under CJA 2003 teh CPS must decide whether the suspect should be charged or cautioned or whether to drop the case.

Ife the Offender isn’t Suitable for Bail: The Police Duty Inspector may authorise a charge in an emergency. This may happen if the CPS Lawyer isn’t available, (Very Rare because we have CPS Direct.)

Question 5

Threshold Test

Answer 5

Once a suspect is in custody, the race is on to collect enough evidence to charge them. Usually evidence is collected quickly, although, there are times when this doesn’t happen and the police must let the suspect go (on Bail) or charge them anyway. The CPS apply this test to decide whether to charge.

The Threshold Test has two parts:

1. Is there enough reasonable suspicion that a crime was committed?
2. Can further evidence be gathered to provide a realistic prospect of conviction?

​They base their decision on the following factors:

• Evidence available at the time
• Likelihood and nature of further evidence being obtained.
• Chances of gaining further evidence
• Charges that the evidence will support

If the case passes the test, the CPS will tell the Police to charge anyway.

Question 6

Full Code Test

Answer 6

When deciding whether to prosecute in court, the CPS consider the alternatives e.g. Caution for adults or Warning/Reprimand for youths. CPS must base their decision on a 2 part test on evidential sufficiency and public policy.

The Two Parts Consist Of:

• Evdiential Test:

​There must be enough evidence to have a realistic prospect of conviction. Must ask: Will a jury be more likely to convict D? Is the evidence reliable & from good quality witnesses?

• Public Interest Test:

​A criminal offence doesn’t always have to automatically be prosecuted, so the CPS must decide if it is in the public’s best interest to go to court. Prosecution will take place unless factors against it outweigh factors for it. Interests of Victim are always considered.

Other Factors Include:

• Likely Penalty
• Staleness of Offence
• Age of Offender
• Offender’s Mental and Physical Health
• Special Nature of Sexual Offences

Prosecution More Likely If:

Offender in gang, Weapon is used, Motive was discrimination, Sexual offence or victim serves public e.g. doctor.

Question 7

Prosecuting In Court

Answer 7

If D pleads not guilty, CPS must go to trial and present evidence against them. CPS usually employs Solicitors, who deal with all Magistrate’s Prosecutions. One Solicitor may conduct all cases in their assigned court room, per day.

Solicitors can take an advocacy certificate ( comes from Access To Justice 1999) to become Solicitor-Advocates, who can appear in the same courts as a Barrister.

CPS have power to ask A-G to take over and drop case under S23 Prosecution Of Offences Act 1985. They also have the power to offer no evidence at all during a prosecution ( 38% cases dropped because of this.)

CPS must also fight Appeals against conviction. They can also appeal if they think the sentence is too low or the Judge made a msitake and D was Acquitted.

Question 8

Evaluation

Answer 8

Positives

• 24hr CPS Direct and CPS in police stations has improved Police-CPS communication.
• CPS still has good success rate, even though they have had 25% of their budget cut.
• Last report shows; percentage of Prosecutions Dropped went from 43% to 38% and convictions for Domestic Violence went up from 73% to 74%.
• New Solicitor-Advocacy saves lots of Taxpayer Money.

Criticisms

• Reliant on Police but don’t understand ‘Police Culture’ Objectives of Police is to achieve convictions but CPS is to achieve fair trial/convition.
• CPS accused of being Racist. High Profile cases e.g. Daminola Taylor 2002 and Stephen Lawrence 1998, have damaged their reputation.
• CPS declared conviction rate of 86% but this includes guilty pleas so number is actually much lower.
• Dropped 176,097 cases in 2011/12, same year 35,494 cases dropped because CPS offered no evidence.